Gulf economies seen slowing down

The Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates economies will narrowly avoid contracting in 2009 while Kuwait shrinks as the Gulf is dealt a double blow from oil output cuts and weak consumer demand, a Reuters poll showed.

Real economic growth in all Gulf oil exporters except Qatar is set to slow to about 2 per cent or less, marking an abrupt end to a boom that saw most Gulf economies expand 6 per cent or more in 2008, according to the poll of 14 economists and analysts.
TradeArabia